Prevotella intermedia has also been associated with periodontal breakdown in Type I diabetics and with endodontic infections including those of the root canal, apical periodotitis, and periapical pathosis. Additionally, this bacterium has been implicated in extra-oral infections that include acute tonsillitis, bacterial tracheitis, and uvuhtis in children and more recently in the development of NOMA (cancrun oris), a debilitating, infectious disease that destroys the oro-facial and neighboring structures. Many strains of P. intermedia posses hemagglutinating activity and some exhibit hemolytic activity. Furthermore, proliferation profiles suggest P. intermedia may possess "superantigenic" activity similar to staphylococcal enterotoxin A. Despite the association of P. intermedia with periodontal and other diseases and its ability to induce Tcell responses, only a limited knowledge of virulence features is available at the cellular and molecular levels. Evidence suggests that P. intennedia is one of the more drug resistant periodontal pathogens, which presents a formidable problem in determining effective treatments for the P. intermedia associated diseases. As a result, there is a critical need to develop genetic approaches to increase our understanding of the cellular/molecular biology and gene content, which will enable investigators to develop novel therapeutic approaches. A determination of the complete genome sequence represents the most effective approach towards realizing these goals. We propose to sequence the 2.8 Mb. Prevotella intermedia clinical isolate strain 17, a well-documented virulent strain. The complete genome sequence of P. intennedia will be determined using the whole genome random shotgun approach currently used at TIGR.